Summary
House Speaker Mike Johnson angered both his Republican caucus and Donald Trump by negotiating a bipartisan budget deal with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.
Trump, feeling “blindsided” and “furious,” reportedly encouraged Elon Musk to attack House leadership on X, leading to over 100 posts that derailed the deal temporarily.
While the budget ultimately passed with Democratic support, far-right Republicans were left fuming.
The incident highlights tensions within GOP leadership and Trump’s use of Musk to wield influence over congressional negotiations.
What if the spectre of an army of Elon-backed challengers is what it takes to finally motivate campaign finance reform?
“Money is Speech, unless it’s funding my opponent” seems very appropriate for today’s Republican party.
I love your optimism and wish I shared in it.
It’s nice to think accelerationism will work this time.
I also think that humans tend to destroy themselves before improving. It’s part of learning after all, not just for individuals but also for society. Peace and progress tend to be born from chaos, when people make mistakes and then learn from it. But I don’t agree with the accelerationism of accelerating the growing chaos just to get on with it. I mean, there is no growing from nuclear war and climate change.
Well, if nuclear war happens, I hope it’s not destructive enough to wipe out all life on earth. And that the utopia that may come from it, as imagined in Star Trek, is what will happen for humanity.